A federal district court in Texas has ruled that Dr. Poliner can either accept a reduced damages award of $22 million or face a new trial. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a motion by Presbyterian Hospital Dallas (Texas Health Systems) and Dr. James Knochel to reduce the damage award for Dr. Poliner from $366 million to $22.5 million. This process is a legal procedure known as “remittitur,” which process allows a judge to reduce a jury award if the court believes the amount to be excessive and unsupported by the facts. This new decision was handed down on September 18, 2006. It was available on the BNA Health Care Daily health law news service at http://op.bna.com/hl.nsf/?Open=psts-6tutrcon
